22 Charming Chicken Coop Amenities
You have your chicken coop all set up, but before you bring home your various breeds of chickens, don't forget to accessorize—both with essential chicken-keeping elements and fun decorative accessories! Giving your chickens a cozy restful spot that accommodates their daily needs and habits is essential to raising happy—and prolific egg-laying—hens. Our Country Living panel of chicken experts suggests these six key elements needed for a safe and happy henhouse:
- Nesting Box: Hens crave privacy and darkness when laying eggs, so plan for at least one nesting box for every four or five hens. A box that measures 14"W-by-14"H-by-12"D will give even a big gal plenty of room. Add a door along the exterior wall of each box for easier egg collection. (Invest in an automatic door to make it even easier!)
- Box Bedding: An inexpensive, soft material such as hay or pin shavings offers a comfortable spot and easier cleaning. To keep things extra fresh, mix in an herbal bedding blend.
- Roosting Bar: Chickens prefer to sleep high off the ground. Give them a perch to catch those ZZZs with a wooden roosting bar. (Wood is preferable to plastic or metal as they are usually too slippery for the birds to properly grip.)
- Dropping Board: This catchall term refers to a board, pan, or box placed beneath the roosting bar to collect and contain manure, making daily cleanups easier.
- Hanging Feeder & Waterer: Keep both off the ground to preserve freshness and place inside the coop to keep out other unwanted animals.
- Enclosed Run: Give your girls a spot to stretch their legs while staying protected from predators. Use hardware cloth or metal screening with at least a 1.2 mm gauge to ensure strength and durability
Check out our picks that will have you covered on all these needs and more—including custom chicken coop signs and playful toys for your chickens!
And if you're still shopping for a coop, take a look at some DIY chicken coop plans and ideas or get instant satisfaction with a stylish mail-order chicken coop. We've also got plenty of tips and ideas for raising chickens from our favorite chicken experts and authors.
Create a very happy hen house with extras ranging from the essential to the whimsical.